Hello all, I did search for this on the forums and only found a few things. So I was wondering if yall could help a guy who is new to the world of predator hunting. My family just moved onto some land in southern Colorado and its amazing. I have recently had a friend start introducing me to predator hunting. He hunts coyotes and sometimes bobcat however he hunts on huge open plains in New Mexico and says he has never hunted them in the thicker forests that I now live in. My question is how do you folks think I should approach getting me a coyote on this property? The land itself is full of rocky overhangs and trees everywhere. I own multiple types of firearms including pistols, shotguns, and rifles of different calibers. I own a foxpro electronic call and a hand call that imitates a rabbit in distress but from trying a few times I have been unsuccessful. So please tips and pointers are welcome!

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"Meglio un giorno da leone che cento da pecora" -- (Better one day as a lion than a hundred as a sheep)

many varmint hunters carry both a good varmint rifle and a shotgun to cover all their bases and different terrains they hunt. a suitable handgun would also provide a nice challange. sounds like you have enough guns to make a choice.

You should put your foxpro either upwind, or crosswind from your position. It depends on the calling set-up, but use your best thoughts on it.

If a coyote smells you, it's gone. Keep that in mind. If it sees you, you might still be able to get a shot. I often use a little bit of movement to stop a coyote when it's coming towards me, and I often get a standing, head on shot that way. Either way, if it knows what your are, your chance is gone.

In tight cover, use the shotgun 'till you know more about the game of predator calling. Shots will be short, so you won't need the range a rifle gives you. Even in open country, I often call with a buddy who uses a shotgun while I use a rifle. Sorta covers both bases.

Also, when calling, keep the sound down for the most part. A coyote hears things for a LONG ways, and rabbits aren't very loud. If you play the tune too loud, a coyote may not want to come in close where you can see/shoot it.

Cover scents are worthless for the most part, but may give you an advantage under certain situations. Instead, maybe a get a good decoy.

Welcome to Colorado. I live in the central area. If you are unaware of the buisness of shooting the little prairie wolf, I will give a little from my experences. I hunted these for 45 plus years, hunting control for sheep ranchers in my youth. First and foremost the coyote IS the most intellegent mammal in Noth American second only to man. In the early years ranchers decieded the wolf and grizzly must go and within a few years they were gone. Ranchers also said the coyote must go. F

Dang it, let me continue. For over a century the coyote has had every effort to eradicate him spoiled. He has been poisened, trapped, hunted, run down with snowmobiles, shot from aircraft and bountied and his numbers continue to increase. When calling preditors a fox will actually walk onto your lap and have talked to callers who actually had to grab them by the scruff of the neck and toss him away. Bobcats if spooked during the calling session, just wait 30 minutes and you can call the same bobcat again. When calling coyotes, if you muff the calling session for any reason that coyote wont respond to any call for at least a year. I have found prime calling areas that I was unable to get any response. Afterwards I had found out it had been recently called by an inexperenced caller. Be aware of your quarries intelligence and enjoy the hunt.

Try and force them into a natural draw or something. Shotgun will be your friend, 2 ounces of copper plated bb's worked like a charm for me and all the other members of the AZ Predator Callers. Call softer and not as often as you would on the plains. Of course pay attention to all the other factors, make as little noise as possible getting into position, pay attention to the wind, etc etc. Finally, try and hunt with somebody to watch your back if you mouthcall. The gray fox will be the one to sneak behind you and bite you..

Randy Anderson is who I believe langenc was referring to. He has some great videos that show how and when to make what call! I use 3" #4 buckshot for my 12 ga. Tha gives me 41 pellets, a bit biger then a .22, flying at my target. I would also suggest a decoy. It will draw the coyotes attention and help keep his eyes of of you! You should also go register at a predator hunting forum and do some studying! There are many out there but, there are a lot of folks from CO on Bucking the Odds forum. They also have a bunch of hunt videos you can watch. All for free. Stop by and say hi! Good luck!

I've been trying to hunt yotes for a few years now, always get busted before I get a shot.
But I've had several within rifle range during deer season. Usually early in the morning when the last thing I want to do is spook all the deer by cracking off a shot.
I've shot 3 coyotes in my life and all three were during deer season.

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